I've been on Spread Eagle a couple of times in winter. I've used the Red and Green routes at times and looped them also. My first choice would be the Red route.

The first part of the descent from Cloud to Silver is either exposed class 3 or 4. It's only 50 yards, but it is airy for a bit.

The route marked from 13490' to the valley floor before re-climbing Rito Alto looks a bit exposed. I bet that once on site, you'll find much better ribs to use than that traverse under Silver and Cloud.

This is a big trip to pull off, but I see you are ready and willing to adjust objectives as the day progresses. Maybe "It's All Good" or the east facing snow trenching to reach Spread Eagle may tire you early in the day. Have mega-fun!

Steve

"We knocked the bastard off." Hillary, 1953"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." Hillary, 2003Couldn't we all use 50 years of humble growth?

sgladbach wrote:Alternative Spread Aagle RoutesJed, et. al.,I've been on Spread Eagle a couple of times in winter. I've used the Red and Green routes at times and looped them also. My first choice would be the Red route.The first part of the descent from Cloud to Silver is either exposed class 3 or 4. It's only 50 yards, but it is airy for a bit.The route marked from 13490' to the valley floor before re-climbing Rito Alto looks a bit exposed. I bet that once on site, you'll find much better ribs to use than that traverse under Silver and Cloud.This is a big trip to pull off, but I see you are ready and willing to adjust objectives as the day progresses. Maybe "It's All Good" or the east facing snow trenching to reach Spread Eagle may tire you early in the day. Have mega-fun!Steve

Thanks for the advice Steve. Boggy B did your green route up Spread Eagle on Sunday and we may follow his trench if we can find it. This is what he said about it that NW ridge "green route":

Boggy B wrote:Don't know how far the bootpack [up Gibson Creek] goes because I was only on it for maybe a quarter mile; but I would expect it to go to the base of the gully. Even barring that, snow in the open is better than snow in the trees. If I were going to do it again this weekend, I'd just start early and climb the gully before the sun hits. I think I'd rather die in a slide than climb that [NW] ridge again..

Of course he was breaking trail solo and he said he had "Jell-o" legs by the summit of Spread Eagle that were magically cured by a huge Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich!

I guess Bill M. himself did the same route up Spread Eagle a few days later and that is where the 360deg panorama on 13ers.com comes from.

Below is an annotated pic from Piper14er's TR showing that if the upper cliffs of PT13490 look impassable/unsafe there is a workaround to the south and a gully to the summit. The workaround is the route that Ken Nolan and Jim Mallory did on separate climbs of PT13490's East Ridge,

Routes on PT13490

239_2010120608125125_l.jpg (159.71 KiB) Viewed 806 times

and looks to be nicely windblown from Boggy B's pic of it from 2 days ago (Feb 26).

• It's by getting away from life that we can see it most clearly... It's by depriving ourselves of the myriad of everyday experiences that we renew our appreciation for them...I've learned from my experiences in the mountains that I love life. — Dave Johnston• Mountains are not climbed merely to reach a geographical location — but as personal and spiritual challenges to the participants. — David Stein • The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.— Alex Lowe• Why do I climb the mountain? Because I'm in love! — The Captain

This other pic by Boggy B of Spread Eagle from the Gibson Creek TH hints that it might be possible to head straight up the gully above Gibson Creek, as the gully amazingly doesn't look too loaded with snow. You can see tiny trees sticking up through the snow near the base of it and it looks like it could easily be paralleled/bypassed on the left or right in the trees if the snow became too unstable. We'll see.

• It's by getting away from life that we can see it most clearly... It's by depriving ourselves of the myriad of everyday experiences that we renew our appreciation for them...I've learned from my experiences in the mountains that I love life. — Dave Johnston• Mountains are not climbed merely to reach a geographical location — but as personal and spiritual challenges to the participants. — David Stein • The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.— Alex Lowe• Why do I climb the mountain? Because I'm in love! — The Captain

This thread has piqued my interest. With my hiking buddy headed to the Citys for the weekend, I'm finding myself all alone with non-solo conditions. If there's room for a snowshoer I may be down with this hike. I'd love to go for the 5-pack but would be perfectly content with just three strong ones.

I might be able to make this, but would have to do it as a day trip from Denver. The weather looks a bit too crappy to stay closer to home. What time is everyone starting from Gibson Creek TH? Anyone else in a similar situation that wants to carpool?